


Breaking Underneath

by Siriusfanatic



Series: At World's End [6]
Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-13
Updated: 2013-04-13
Packaged: 2017-12-08 10:03:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/760106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siriusfanatic/pseuds/Siriusfanatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Faced with treachery on all sides, Jack sets his ill begotten plan into motion, and sees whom he truly can and can not trust. The only thing standing between him and what he wants most now is one big case of indecision. Meanwhile, Barbossa has a revelation and suddenly questions everything he had previously believed, including his decision to mend things with Jack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breaking Underneath

"Sao Feng!"  
Once again aboard The Black Pearl, this time under heavy guns and seeing now the faces of the enemies they had been sleeping with throughout this journey, Hector feigned friendliness as much for his own sake as for the man who was being shuffled and pushed behind him. The rest of the crew were already bound and shackled and none dared make a move. The man responsible turned at the sound of his name, smiling easily. Barbossa approached him, heedless of the guns trained on him. "Your showing up here is an incredible coincidence." He snarked, eyeing his old and seemingly constant enemy. Sao turned to him with a confident smile, satisfied in his capture of the Pearl. As he moved towards Barbossa, he noticed a movement behind him. Jack was practically cowering behind his former first mate, trying not to be seen. With good reason. When Sao laid eyes upon the pirate he had thought dead, his smile faded and that murderous gleam appeared in his black eyes again. "Jack Sparrow..."  
Jack gave his usual disarming grin, only to be struck squarely in the face by Sao's fist. Jack's head snapped back in result. As his crew gave a little gasp of surprise, Hector struggled to remain between the two men, sure Feng would put an end to Sparrow now. He dared to give the other man a hefty shove backwards, but stopped short of pulling his own weapon, knowing it would earn him a bullet through the head. "Ye will not touch him again!"  
"Hector, it's fine..." Jack mumbled, holding his nose and trying to force it back into alignment. Sao sneered and grabbed Barbossa by the back of the head, pulling him forward and pressing the tip of his dagger just below his eye. "I marked you once for betraying me," he hissed. "Perhaps this time I shall cut out your eye all together."  
The other man did not look afraid though, even though he could feel the prick of the blade beneath the delicate skin of his eye. "Do it then, if ye have the nerve!" he dared. Both Jack and Elizabeth moved to intervene, much to the surprise of themselves and the rest of the crew. Jack was forced back, but Sao was intrigued by the apparent compassion of the young woman he had discovered months before in his bath house. "Seems you've made strange bedfellows, Barbossa...." he grinned, looking Elizabeth up and down hungrily.  
"Release her!" Will's voice barked then, moving forward. All three stared as the young man moved about freely, his hands unbound and without the slightest threat from Feng's warriors. "Elizabeth is not part of any bargain." He addressed the captain, who smirked. Barbossa bristled as Jack and Elizabeth stared wide-eyed. "And what bargain be that?" he spat. Another inevitable betrayal, he thought bitterly. He looked between Swann and Sparrow, knowing that this was a blow to both of them. Sao simply smiled, pleased at how well this little operation had been conducted; "You heard Captain Turner." He nodded as Elizabeth's shackles were undone.  
"Captain Turner?" Jack repeated incredulously.  
"Aye, the nefarious little rotter lead a mutiny against us!" Gibbs spoke up from behind, obviously as bitter about the whole thing as the rest of them.  
"I needed the Black Pearl to rescue my father," Will announced, not really looking at any of them, able to feel the scorn of their stares. "That's the only reason I came on this voyage." His eyes flickered towards Jack, who looked as if he'd been stabbed, and Elizabeth as she was freed and came trotting towards him. "Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?" she gasped.  
He gave her a cold look. "It was my burden to bear."  
And finally Sparrow burst.  
"HE needs the Pearl! CAPTAIN TURNER needs the bloody Pearl!" he shouted, almost hysterical as he stormed towards William, heedless of the rest of the company surrounding him. "All this time, it was just a clever little distraction, wasn't it?" he demanded, looking Will hard in the face though the young man would not meet his gaze. "You needed to keep me quiet and happy while you waited for reenforcements from your new friends?" He glowered at Sao Feng, who still had a dangerous grip upon Barbossa. "You treacherous little blighter," Sparrow growled. " I taught you too well, didn't I? You're father would be ashamed!"  
Will gave Jack a violent shove then. "You've no right to speak of him to me! It's your fault he's where he's at! Yours Jack!"  
Jack seemed flustered by the accusation then pointed to Hector, "Exactly when did you shift blame from him to me? I'm not the one who strapped him to bloody canon!"  
"Leave me out of this," Hector grumbled, leaning away from Soa's grip. "I've enough troubles of my own!"  
"Enough!" Sao muttered, tired of this brawl. He grabbed Jack by the braid and yanked him to him, and though Barbossa tried to intervene, he was held at by several loaded pistols, all pointed at his head. "I'm very sorry about all this Jack," he purred, holding the squirming tan skinned pirate a little too close. "Of course you are," Sparrow muttered, as Sao's long black nails dug into his shoulders, "just rife with remorse."  
The captain from Singapore chuckled, looking Jack up and down. "Were it my decision, dear Jack, I would give you a welcome back to the land of the living that would make you beg for death again," he grinned. His dark eyes flickered to Barbossa, knowing he was provoking him. "But there is an old friend who is waiting for you."  
He marched Jack to the rail, where they could see another ship approaching. A grand naval vessel this time. Jack gulped, already guessing whom it might be. "I do not think I can survive anymore visits from old friends."  
"Let's find out."

 

***

 

Barbossa watched helplessly as Jack was forced into a rowboat and taken aboard the East India Company's flagship The Endeavor, and into the hands of Cutler Beckett himself. His stomach gave a lurch at the idea of Jack once again being Beckett's prisoner, but he pushed away his doubt. Sparrow was nothing if not an escape artist of the highest quality, and he highly doubted that anyone could hold him against his will long.  
So for the moment, he thought about his own distressing circumstances. Sao had fallen much farther than expected. To see that he had made a deal with Beckett and the East India Trading Company turned Barbossa's stomach. If Sao's ancestors could see him now from whatever window they had into this world, surely they were rolling in their graves. His eyes must have said as much because Feng suddenly turned towards him again. "You dare to look at me in such a manner?"  
"Look at what?" Barbossa sneered. "I see nothing but a coward and a collaborator." The other captain struck him with enough force that sent him flat to the deck, gasping in the sharp pain that lanced up his back. There was a rattling of shackles as part of the crew moved as if to protect him. Even Gibbs looked worried, as Elizabeth moved from Will's side and fell at his. "You're a coward!" she spat him, helping Barbossa sit up. "Attacking a man that can not fight!"  
Sao seemed impressed at her gall, and glanced back at Will who was looking nervously at her. "Are you sure she should not be chained, Captain Turner? It looks as if she has chosen another side."  
"Aye," Hector said, standing up again with some help. "And she be havin' more honor than either of ye yellow livered backstabbin' bunch of rotters!" he spat. "Have ye any idea to whom ye sold yer souls to? For a surely as I stand here upon my own two feet, they'll turn on you both the moment you become unnecessary!"  
Will stepped to Sao Feng then, looking apprehensive. "You promised me that no one would be harmed," he reminded him. "The crew was to remain intact."  
But it became apparent to everyone that the Sleeping Dragon of Singapore had become tired of dealing with this naive excuse for an Englishman. He would suffer no more of his bargains or agreements. For Will had not the metal to make such treacherous dealings as he was attempting now. Both Barbossa and Elizabeth wondered if the man had truly ever known what he was dealing with when he had come up with this plan of mutiny. "And so they remain," he answered, giving the younger sailor a superior gaze. "But Barbossa was to be mine."  
"A blistering blood gut in hell!" Hector snapped in response, though the other two captain's ignored him. Elizabeth stared at the man she would have called husband; "Is this what you've become?" she asked. "You've turned Jack over to Beckett, knowing what his fate will be. You've sold Barbossa to this monster, leaving us with nothing! What of the Brethern Court!?"  
"It is not our concern Elizabeth," he said, trying to reach for her but she pulled away. "The hell it isn't!" Sao admired her fire, smoothing his fingers down the delicate braid of his beard. "The woman is right. You do prove yourself to be treacherous and untrustworthy character, William Turner. A trait I might have admired."  
Will found himself suddenly seized and his hands bound. "No! Feng! We had a deal! You said the Pearl was to be mine!"  
"And so it was." the pirate assured. "White men are so easily fooled."  
It was at this moment one of the naval officers, Beckett's right hand in command, a gruesome and grim man by the name of Mercer approached the squabbling brood, leading his own crewman aboard. Feng looked up, surprised at this intrusion. "My men are crew enough." he reminded him. But Mercer looked unmoved, glowering at him with his cold, scarred and pucker-marked face. "Company ship, company crew."  
The captain blinked, stunned at this disrespect and disregard for his commands. He could almost hear Barbossa smirking in smug satisfaction behind him. "Shame, they're not bound to honor the code," he said wistfully, seeing Sao shake with fury at this insult. He turned on the old sea dog, his furrowed brow exaggerating the scars across his face. "And what good is the code here?" He demanded. "They have the Dutchman. Now the Pearl! What good is it to remain with the losing side? Leaving it for the winning side; that's just good business."  
Hearing these words from Feng's own lips told Hector exactly how far the pirate lord had fallen. He thought of Tia Dalma's ominous words back at the shack all those months ago, about how some might not be readily persuaded to their cause. He glanced at the woman now, whom had been taken captive like all the rest. He had but one last chance to convince Sao that he was wrong. If he failed, it would be to the ruin of them all. "Aye, perhaps. But we have something they don't." he said in careful, low tones, looking about to make sure they weren't being listened to.  
Sao Feng rolled his eyes. "And what be that?"  
"We have Calypso."  
Sao laughed at him in mockery. "An old sea legend?"  
"No legend. The goddess herself bound in human form. I intend to release her upon our enemies, but for that I need the Court." He reached for Sao's necklace and took it between his fingers as he had before that day in his temple, looking at the man with utter seriousness. "All the court." He knew whatever mockery Sao felt like dealing him out of spite and contempt, that he would believe this. For Sao Feng had seen far more of the supernatural world than most sailors ever dared dream possible, much of it with Barbossa at his side. Sao's eyes flickered about the crew, and settled on Elizabeth Swann. "Is that so?"  
The pirate lord's hungry gaze as it roved over Swann's figure disturbed him, but Hector knew that he had found his leverage.

***

 

And on The Endeavor, Jack was swiftly looking for his own. Sparrow was escorted below to the second deck and forced through the glass panned double doors of Beckett's state room. The naval officer had his back to him as he spoke; "It's curious. Your friends appear to be quite desperate, Jack. Perhaps they no longer believe that a gathering of squabbling pirates is enough to take down the Flying Dutchman."  
Jack ignored his little monologe, quickly shifting through an array of containers and boxes that decoratively littered the man's office, in hopes of finding what he knew to be in Beckett's possession. "And so despair leads to betrayal." He whirled then, gripping the pirate by the arm and rolling up his sleeve, revealing the scarred shape of a "p" just above his tattoo. "But you and I are no strangers to betrayal, are we, Jack?"  
Sparrow hissed, almost as if he could still feel the burn of the branding upon his skin. Beckett smiled at him, "How are you?"  
Jack shook him off, sauntering away. "Dandy! After all, I've a new lease on life." he said brightly, curiously admiring all of the lord's trimmings and trappings. Beckett was a man of taste and refinement, and was never without life's little luxuries. It was something Jack both admired and hated about him. "And you?" he added slyly. "Still murdering innocents in the name of the crown?"  
Beckett gave a little chuckle, rocking on his heels with his hands neatly folded behind his back. "Call it murder if you will," he replied. "But neither of our hands are clean in that matter." He noticed that Sparrow was still snooping through his things and so replied; "It isn't here, Jack."  
"What? What isn't?"  
"The heart of Davy Jones. And so it is unavailable for you to use as leverage against your debt with the Dutchman."  
"By my account, that debt has been settled."  
"By your death?" Jack felt a little chill run down his back, feeling the other man step up behind him and run a finger lightly down his spine. "And yet here you are."  
Sparrow skittered away from him, stealing a gold laden walking stick from it's casual resting spot against the ornate desk and admiring it. "Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream. That's how I get by."  
"But you're not a dream, Jack."  
Sparrow flashed him one of his famous smiles. "Aren't I though? I bet you think about me all the time, Cutler." He gazed at the other man easily, coyly seating himself on the edge of the desk, palm sliding over the head of the walking stick in a way that made Beckett stiffen a little. "When you're asleep, when you're awake. Even in this very moment..." He picked up the polished staff and thoughtfully pressed the handle against his lips as he hummed. Beckett was watching him, memorize by the movement of his hands and mouth. It had been years since he'd last laid eyes upon Sparrow, and he was somewhat surprised that in the presence of the cunning and handsome pirate he felt the same kind of helpless lust he had felt in their first meeting. But he was a stronger man now, ruthless and cold blooded. He would not be lead astray so easily this time.  
"That is what you're so very upset about isn't it? That you missed your chance?" Jack playfully flicked the end of the staff towards the other man, moving aside the edge of his jacket so that he could better see his lower half. "Or is it that I rendered you frustratingly incapable in that department?"  
Beckett's nostril's flared and he wrenched the stick away, hurling it with a clatter to the polished wood floor before stepping menacingly towards the pirate. "I'm not as incapacitated as you would like to believe," he hissed, pinning him there between himself and hard surface of the desk. Jack remained calm however, pushing down any residual fear. "How nice for you."  
Beckett struggled to get ahold of himself then and after a moment of hard concentration was finally able to reel in his emotions, breath calmly and step back. Jack smoothed the wrinkles in his waist coat and sash and continued to saunter around the room, hands lightly playing along whatever interested him, and his eyes drinking in every little detail of the maps and charts splayed upon Beckett's table, hoping to find a clue as to his strategy.  
"Perhaps you would consider an alternate arrangement, one that requires absolutely nothing from you but information." He poured two delicate gold filagree sherry glasses full and presented them to pirate, who took both and downed them hurriedly. "Regarding the Brethren Court, no doubt?" He replied, noticing the nine pieces of eight lined neatly along the border of Beckett's map behind his little tin soldiers and wooden replicas of ships. "In exchange for fair compensation, square my debt with Jones, guarantee my freedom?"  
"Of course. It's just good business."  
Jack casually picked up one of the little tin pieces, one he assumed was meant to represent Beckett and rolled it over in his palm, admiring it's tiny details. "And if I were in a divulgatory mood, what then would I divulge?" he inquired slyly. He felt the other man stand behind him again and a shudder as his breath ghost across his shoulders, for Beckett stood no higher than that. One hand slyly came around his middle and Jack resisted the urge to jump and run. "Everything." the smaller man replied.

 

Sao seemed to be considering things now that this new piece of the puzzle had presented itself to him. But he was not going to be so easily convinced. He looked to Barbossa again and his eyes were cold, "Why should I trust you?"  
"You shouldn't. But this be not about our petty squabbles. This is for the fate of us all." Hector explained. "If we live, and manage to sink these pompous powdered twits crawling on their bellies back to their king where they belong, ye can always kill me then."  
A familiar smile crossed Sao's lips, and for a moment he softened. But it was only for a moment, for that cold gleam returned and Hector knew he was ready to make his move. "What are you proposing then, Captain?"  
"What be acceptin', Captain?"  
Sao's eyes fell upon Elizabeth again. "The girl."  
Both Barbossa and Will startled a little, though it was Elizabeth who seemed the most surprised. She almost could not believe that Feng would think of her as some ancient archane goddess bound in flesh.  
"Elizabeth is not part of any bargain," Will protested, fearing now for her safety, as if for the first time he realized the dangers he'd invited by dealing with these men. Hector for his part looked a bit reluctant too, "Out of the question."  
"It was not a question." He titled his head, his pompous smile tearing a bit at Barbossa's patience. "She means so much to you, after all."

 

Jack gulped. This bargain was quickly gaining a steep price, and he found himself, much to his own surprise, wishing suddenly for Hector and the security of his old shipmate by his side again. He felt Beckett's groping hand reach a little further and braced himself for what he thought would come next. But instead Cutler grabbed his compass, yanked it free from it's place at Jack's waist and held it aloft. Jack turned, reaching for it; "Oh Jack, I've just recalled! I've this remarkable little compass that points the way to whatever I want." He drew his pistol from his belt and placed the barrel squarely at Sparrow's heart. "So for what do I need you?"  
But Jack did not look as unnerved as he expected him to. "Cutler, darlin', it points to what you want most in the world. And that is not the Brethern Court, is it?" Beckett looked slightly confused, still holding the compass out of Jack's reach. "Then what is?"  
Sparrow leaned into him easily. "Me." He twisted a finger around one of the neat curls of Beckett's white naval wig as he felt the man shudder. "Dead." He reached and snatched the compass away from the smaller man, and replaced it safely upon his belt. But the pistol the other man held had not left his chest. "Of course, if I kill you, I could use the compass to find the way to...Shipwreck Cove, was it? Cut out the middle man."  
He surprised Jack then by knocking him to the floor and pouncing upon him. Sparrow bellowed, more out of surprise and disgust than anything and held him at bay by keeping his boot heel wedged against the smaller man's chest and shoulder. "Wait a minute, wait a minute, WAIT A MINUTE!" He finally kicked the man off him, sending him sprawling back on his ass, hat and wig in disarray. Jack scurried around the desk, desperate to put something suitably heavy and cumbersome between him and the other man. "If you do that, you'll arrive at Shipwreck Cove to find that it is a stronghold nigh impregnable! Able to withstand blockade for years, and you'll be thinking 'Oh if only there was someone I had not killed on the inside, to then make the pirates come outside'..."  
Beckett considered this, though right now his mind was fogged with a chance to live out the sick perversions of lust and revenge he'd been harboring for almost fourteen years now against Sparrow. "And you can accomplish all this, can you?"  
Jack grinned. "You may kill me, but you may never insult me! Who am I?"  
Beckett looked lost at the question and Jack wilted, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!" he whined.  
"Yes. That you are." The little man scrambled over the desk, causing Jack to shriek and run. It was lucky that just at this time a canon ball came blasting through the lower deck, rocking it. Hector was delightfully right on cue it seemed.  
Easily avoiding the snare of the guards outside the door by smashing both in the head and leaving Beckett quite flustered upon the floor before darting towards the upper decks, still not quite knowing how he was going to get safely back aboard the Pearl; especially since it had been over run with both military and Sao Feng's unsavory crew.

 

And while Jack fled through a hail of canon fire by both The Black Pearl and Sao's ship The Empress, Barbossa and his crew were having a tough time of things themselves.  
Sao Feng, Elizabeth in tow, had fled back to his own ship despite Turner's protests while both sets of Pirates attacked those of the E.I.T.C with all that they had. Turner and Barbossa found themselves back to back in combat, trying to purge the ship of the naval crewman before The Endeavor could recover from their sudden canon attack and blast them to bits.  
"I can't believe you let them take her!" Turner spat at the older pirate.  
"Don't blame me for your own stupidity, boy! Was you who so naively made a deal with that treacherous dragon to begin with!" He spat back, thrusting back the impale body of his foe before turning to fight another. "Not to mention that ye betrayed Jack and sent him into the waiting jaws of Cutler Beckett!"  
Will shouted, dodging a near blow to the neck and kicked his own opponent over the rail of the quarterdeck and sent him splashing below. "Jack's escaped them before! He can do it again! Beckett's no different!"  
"On that note ye be wrong!" Barbossa quipped, turning to look at the lad. "Beckett be the same devil servant of the crown what branded Jack a pirate in the first place!"  
Will realized that Beckett's obsession with capturing Sparrow and the compass was more personal than he had first thought, and knew then that he had unwittingly and callously sent Jack into indeterminable danger. In affect, Will had set in motion a plan which had cost not one, but both of his lovers in a single go. It was not until this moment that the gravity of all his lies and deceit, even in the name of good, had probably cost him what he valued most.  
They were set upon then by Mercer, who was not handicapped for lack of a dry shot. He fired at both men, narrowly missing splitting Turner's head wide with a pistol ball before they broke, forcing him to choose one of two targets. Of the two, Mercer chose Barbossa. He chased the fleeing pirate up the stairs to the quarter mast and cornered him there at the rail with no where to go. Hector managed a deadly swipe of his cutlass which knocked the man's pistol from his hand, nearly taking his thumb with it. Mercer cursed him and paid him in kind by dealing him a brutal slice to the thigh that nearly knocked Barbossa off his feet. He shouted in pain, blood spurting and quickly running into his boot, and managed to block a second thrust before clouting the man in the face with heel of his blade and knocking him overboard. It was in doing so that he caught a glimpse of Jack, who had managed to fight his way topside, and was standing, in rather peculiar fashion next to a smoking canon. Hector saw Beckett now too, and heard something of an exchange between the two old foes before the canon fired and Jack was suddenly and unceremoniously hoisted into the air and flung across the water towards their own ship.  
Barbossa cursed, fearing the idiot would completely overshoot the Pearl and land on the other side of her and consequently be sucked beneath her and drowned. Pushing his way through the rest of the crew, he searched the water for any sign of Jack, only to find him standing neatly upon the ship's rear lantern, grinning madly. "And that was without nary a single drop of rum!"  
"You idiot!"  
"Aye, but a free man all the same," Jack said, lightly dismounting and easily crossing the deck, where he discovered that the other man had taken an injury. "That leg looks bad," he said worriedly. "Best have it bound before you expire from the perforation."  
Shouldering the other man, he looked at his waiting crew and to a face that sent him instantly to scowling. "Mr. Gibbs," he called, his voice serious and commanding. "Aye, sir?" Jack looked hard at Will, "Take this mutinous, cow-hearted, traitorous, yesty cod-piece to the brig." Ragetti, Pintel and Marty were all too happy to oblige as Gibbs provided the same shackles he'd been bound with just moments before hand.  
But they were not out of enemy fire-range just yet. Another fire of The Endeavor's canon struck near the figurehead, and a second shot landed dangerously close to blowing a hole in the port side deck. Now minus almost half their crew, Jack decided they needed every available hand. "Belay that," he said then, just as Gibbs was about to shackle Will.  
"Sir?"  
"Take to the helm and get us as much distance between us and them as possible. The wind's on our side for the moment. I'll see to these two."  
"Jack we need you!"  
"Just keep your britches on!" He muttered, dragging both below into his cabin, since he doubted Hector could make it down another flight of steps into the crew's quarters below deck. "Mr. Turner will act as medic. Put those hands of yours to use," he said quickly and coldly to Will. He offered Barbossa a fresh pistol from his personal stores. "And if he should try anything," he suggested. He gave Hector a quick peck on the forehead before darting outside again and bellowing orders to his crew.  
Yet again, Hector and Will found themselves alone together. Only this time, Will was not looking as cocky or bold as he had in the past. He opened the medicine chest and began rummaging for supplies, but the pirate waved him off. "Leave it be, I'll do it myself."  
Will sat back as Barbossa pulled off his boot, and cut away a bit of blood soaked pant leg, revealing the deep gash that Mercer had dealt to his thigh just above the knee. Hissing he probed his fingers into it, shouted and came away looking pained by relieved. "It won't require a stitch," He wiped his hand off on his jacket and reached for the bandages, but Will was already undoing them. "I said I do it myself."  
"Sorry, sir, but it's Jack's orders." he muttered, swabbing the bloody wound with alcohol soaked cloth and hearing Hector yelp in response before he carefully began binding it. "It's the least I can do," he added. "To offer my services...and my apologies."  
"I'm not one to be begged forgiveness from," Barbossa muttered, gripping the arm of the chair and trying to force himself to relax, breathing slow and deep in an effort to stem the pain. He'd endured far worse in his life, but it had been awhile since he'd been dealt a blow like this and the sting of it never quite ceases to set your teeth to grind and your palms to sweat. "Save it for Elizabeth, you've sent her to a terrible fate at Sao's hands."  
Will paled a little, continuing to swab away blood. After a few moments Hector added; "Ye know, I never did those things I said I did with her. It was all an act, to get your dander up. Certainly it seems to have worked."  
"You mean she's...?"  
"You're virgin bride still be a virgin, young Turner. At least while she can fend off Feng." He groaned again, gripping the chair hard enough to cause it to creak under his palm and laid down his head against the backrest, keeping his eyes closed. "It be too tight!"  
Will apologized quickly, undoing some of the fresh wrappings, discarding the ones too blood soaked to saved and starting again. Hector found himself getting dizzy from the blood loss and deep breathing and so hoped he might simply black out for a bit and find a reprieve. Will's hands worked up his leg and he paid little attention to them for they weren't doing anything that caused him discomfort. Until the young man seated himself almost directly between the two appendages and was working at the buttons of his waist coat just above his naval. "What are ye doin?"  
Turner flicked him an awkward sort of glance, seeming a bit out of sorts. "Trying to make you more comfortable." he muttered. "You could have other injuries and just aren't feeling them at the moment." Hector thought this unlikely but was too tired to argue. He sat back passively, eyes watching the boy carefully for anything too sudden or suspicious. After all, Will had tried to put an end to him once already today.  
"You were right...about everything," he admitted. Outside they could still hear the faint blast of guns being fired, and the running about deck had slowed to the occasional sprint. "It was my foolishness that got us all into this terrible state. I don't deserve to remain aboard this ship."  
"Jack must still see something in you, to be considering what he is..." His eyes flickered up at his face. "Though what I can't imagine."  
Hector scoffed lightly, motioning for the young man to hand him a bottle of rum that was lingering upon a shelf in the corner. Will brought it to him and helped him tip it back, watching the man drink heavily from it. "I'm an acquired taste, young Turner. Though I have to side with you in this one particular instance. Frankly, I don't know what he sees in me either."  
"Elizabeth certainly saw something." his make-shift medic replied. "I really did think...that is, when I saw you on deck the other day when you were bathing...I guess I saw the attraction." It felt awkward to say, and Barbossa could tell he was uncomfortable admitting such a thing. But he wasn't too concerned about the boy's comfort level then either. "It be a little too late to be buttering me up with flattery and sweet words, William. Not that I'd want them from you to begin with. Yer not my type." He took another deep drink of rum, trying to drown out the sting in his leg with it. Was feeling warm and almost blissfully blurry. Turner was between his knees again and he almost didn't notice him, until he felt hands undoing his sash and his pistol belt, trying to undo the buttons beyond that. "Well, you're not exactly my preference either." Will grumbled.  
"True enough, but doesn't explain what ye be doing with my breeches." Hector growled. Will slid a hand up Hector's other thigh, moving inward enough to make the older man sit up and pay attention. He was about to ask just what the whelp was intending, for he knew he had not sustained any injuries there, when Will leaned forward, his head dipping far too low for Barbossa's comfort. The pirate grabbed his forehead and gave him a forcible shove backwards, sending him on his ass; "ARE YE TOUCHED IN THE HEAD, BOY!?" He bellowed, eyes wide and face slightly red. "JACK! JACK!"  
They heard the thudding of boots upon the deck above and moment later the door swung open violently and Sparrow came charging in, sword at the ready. But all he saw was Hector trying to fight off the apparent advances of one William Turner. Of everything he'd seen in the last few weeks aboard this ship, this was the most absurd and all together baffling of them all. "WILLIAM?!"  
Will stood up in frustration. "I wasn't going to–,"  
"Don't even bother!" Jack groaned, stuffing his pistol away and rubbing his head as if in pain, or at least in irritation. "I causes me a hemorrhage just to think about it!" He roughly took the younger man's arm and lead him out the cabin, and returned several minutes later with Turner securely locked in the brig and still shaking his head. "I'm beginning to wonder if at some point dear William did not sustain a blow to the head that has rendered him somewhat loony."  
"Brown nosing little cur! Elizabeth's better off without him," Hector bristled, seemingly quite unnerved by the display Will had just shown. Jack smiled in spite of himself, "Why Hector, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were embarrassed."  
"Am not."  
"Oh come now," Jack continued, peering out the windows to be certain that The Endeavor was well at their rudder and no longer a danger to them. He had long since lost sight of The Empress. "You've had men younger than Will doing not much else."  
"And how would you know?"  
"I was younger," Sparrow replied, almost shyly. Hector eased himself out of the chair and limped across the cabin towards him. "Jack, about before, on the island..."  
"Yes, luv?"  
Hector blushed a little, but shook his head. "Ye never gave me an answer."  
Jack didn't look at him and busied himself fussing with displaced odds and ends about the room. He couldn't look Hector in the eyes and tell him he didn't know what he wanted. Or wasn't ready to throw caution to the wind and take up trusting the man who'd wounded him more mortally than any sword or pistol ball could ever do. But Barbossa was well acquainted with this sort of display, and knew that there was the very real possibility that Sparrow could refuse him, or simply be unwilling to try again. He wouldn't blame him, he supposed. Yet, if he could put aside his own resentment, he didn't see what could be holding Jack back.  
"Is it Bill you're still holding a torch for, Sparrow?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer. Jack looked at him quickly over his shoulder. "I can't believe you'd even have the nerve to ask me about it." But he didn't sound angry as he spoke, and his eyes were more sad and conflicted than bitter or insulted. "We shouldn't talk about this now. You need a rest, and God knows I need a drink."  
He took the rum bottle Hector had been swilling out of and poured the remainder into two gold plated goblets, handing the second to his companion, who seated himself upon the bed. "What shall we drink to, Jack?"  
The dark haired man thought it over, even though it had not been a serious question, then raised his glass. "To Elizabeth Swann; the bravest woman and damn finest pirate I've ever had the good fortune to meet."  
"Aye."  
They drank quickly and Jack refilled their cups, already feeling drunk after the two glasses of sherry he'd already had in Beckett's cabin. "To William Turner! No one's ever learned treachery so quickly or failed to master it so completely!"  
Hector chuckled and took another drink, careful not to down the whole glass this time. He was already hazier than he'd like to admit and sleep was not far off. But he wanted to savor every last little moment he could with Sparrow at his side, at ease like this. He'd been waiting a lifetime for it.  
"To Sao Feng!" He struck up then, and Jack gleefully raised his glass again, letting some of his drink spill upon the floor from his unsteady hand. "Truly a man who has never learned his lesson!" Jack laughed and finished another glass. He sloppily poured a fourth and Hector declined, still having most of his. Sparrow made his way from the table, and much to the older pirate's surprise, actually crawled upon his lap. "Careful, you'll make me stain the sheets," was all he could manage, shocked by this sudden closeness and easy intimacy Jack was displaying.  
"And to you, Hector," he grinned, though his voice was much softer now. "The only man whoever held my heart and had the stubbornness to never let it go..." Jack forgot to drink, consumed by the look in Barbossa's eyes and the feeling of being this close to him again. It was a dangerous place to be, he was so ready to fall again. Barbossa moved their glasses aside and pulled the man in for another kiss. Jack obliged, happily surrendering for a moment, then pulling back. "You're very persuasive, mate."  
Hector knew he could have had him then. Thrown him to the bed and ravaged him. Jack would probably only object for a moment or two. But it wasn't good enough to steal a cheap fuck from the man, who was clearly drunk and freshly abandoned by another man he'd trusted. "I'm tired. My leg hurts like a bloody bitch, and you're drunk off yer ass."  
"What of it?"  
"I propose we halt negotiations until a more suitable time. Say when we're both not eyeball deep in rum?" He allowed Sparrow to slip off of his lap and slid onto the covers, tugging Barbossa with him. "Cessations of hostilities as well for the evening?" he asked sleepily.  
Hector nodded, lying nose to nose with the other man and feeling himself dropping off. Jack moved in a bit closer, tucking his head beneath Barbossa's chin and letting the other man put his arms around him. Soon both men were fast asleep, their crew and everything else forgotten about.

 

***

Jack woke a little while later to darkness and a quiet that was marked by a peculiar splashing sound. Lifting his head, he found himself encased in the arms of the heavily sleeping Barbossa; which was enough to startle anyone. He wiggled and squirmed till he was free, then sat up staring at the other man. When Hector didn't stir as a result of all this movement he gave him a little poke, just to make sure he was still breathing. Barbossa muttered something and shifted a little, making a pained face due to the involuntary movement of his leg and Jack pulled a blanket over him and remained close until he was quiet again. The splashing continued, and Sparrow found himself leaning out one of the cabin's windows, peering over the horizon. He nearly had his head taken off by a something large and cumbersome that came crashing down from above and landed with a plunk and a splash below. Peering into the lantern lit darkness, Jack discovered that it was a body of a deceased sailor, that had been tied to a barrel. At once gulls swarmed around the unfortunate corpse, pecking it to bits. Jack craned his neck up and caught sight of a face in the dark. William.  
Shaking his head he exited the cabin and soon joined the escaped traitor aboard the deck. "Bravo, you escaped the brig even faster than I expected." He said, startling the younger man. Will glared back at him hard and continued tying the next body to the barrel at hand. "Do not try to stop me, Jack."  
"Why would I be doing that?" Sparrow asked casually. He surveyed the man's work with a careful eye. "Come up with this all by your lonesome, did you?" he queried. "You realize that you have Beckett's trust for the moment–and it is a fleeting moment, my luv–but once he arrives at ShipWreck Cove, you will no longer be valuable to him."  
"Unless I make myself so."  
"And how do you intend to do that?"  
"By offering him you in exchange." Will gave him a deadly serious look, but Jack wasn't fooled. He brushed the back of his palm lightly over the young man's cheek. "You're not a hard man, William Turner. You've lost yourself somewhere along the way, and I've as much myself to blame for it as anyone else." He gave him a look of regret, "But don't throw away the one real thing you have because you're afraid to be who you are."  
Will seemed to understand and for a moment stopped in his work. "I'm losing her, Jack. Every step I take towards my father is a step away from Elizabeth." It had certainly been the case up till now.  
"Then change the rules!" Sparrow said eagerly then. "Avoid the choice between the two. Let someone else dispatch Jones..."  
"Who?"  
Jack glanced away slyly and Will's eyes widened. "You?" Sparrow seemed pleased with himself; "Death has a curious way or reshuffling one's priorities. I'll slip aboard the Dutchman, find the heart, stab the beating thing. Your father goes free, and you're free to be with your charming murderess."  
But Turner did not seem convinced. "And you're willing to carve out your heart and bind yourself to the Dutchman, forever?"  
Jack hadn't thought about that, but decided that it would all work itself out one way or another. He was not a man to bother with detail. "But immortal has to count for something, eh? Oh!" He tugged his faithful compass from his belt and handed it to the boy. "What's this for?"  
The swarthy pirate smiled at him. "Think like me, it'll come to you." He leaned in and kissed the man one last time. Will looked at him carefully. "And what of your choice, Jack?"  
"You mean Barbossa?"  
"Are you sure this is what you really want?" he added. Sparrow looked uncertain for a moment, but shrugged it off. "Your concern is touching, but really I think it best you concentrate on your own dilemma for the moment." He leaned in a kissed the man once more with the sad sweetness of goodbye, holding him for a moment. "I will miss you, darlin'. Believe that."  
Will looked back at him remorsefully, regretting his lies and leading the man on the way he had in these last few weeks. But Jack seemed to have already forgiven him. He gave Will a little shove and he teetered on the edge before falling overboard with a splash. Jack pushed the barrel and body after him, giving him something to keep him afloat. "My regards to Davy Jones!" He waved fondly.  
Well, perhaps he wasn't completely forgiven.

 

***

 

It was dawn when Hector woke again, finding that Jack was still beside him. It was a comforting feeling seeing Sparrow there, but disorienting all the same. He knew by the ache in his head and the throb in his leg that nothing had happened, and admitted he was disappointed. Normally he was not the virtuous type that would let an opportunity like that slip through his fingers. But this all had to be played out so carefully that any misstep could cost him everything. Shifting around the other sleeping captain, Barbossa hobbled his way out onto the deck for some fresh air. The crew was moving sluggishly that morning, all tired from their hasty retreat the night before and wary of what would come next. They had a right to be.  
He caught a glimpse of Tia Dalma lingering near the mizzenmast, staring wistfully towards the island that was coming into view just over the horizon; Shipwreck Cove. Her mood seemed pensive, irritable, and uneasy. Hector approached her with some reluctance. "I suppose this is a sight ye'd not hoped to lay eyes on again in this life," he suggested as he stepped a little closer to her, looking out at the island ahead.  
"You have not forgotten your purpose." she reminded him, her voice heavy and somewhat dangerous. Barbossa nodded his head, "You think I would so easily go back upon my word to ye?" Her dark eyes flashed towards him, "I t'ink ye have become distracted."  
Barbossa brushed off the implication, leaning upon the rail. But her eyes were still on him, making him feel chilled and nervous. "You should not have let Sao Feng leave de ship." she said coldly. "We needed him."  
"He will honor the Code." Hector nodded, though he didn't feel at all certain of that. Sao had forgotten his honor, forgotten the words of his father and uncle when he had succeeded them in their rule of the South China Sea. He had become greedy, cowardly, vengeful.  
"You could have kept him aboard de ship. He would have staid, if ya had but asked."  
Barbossa sneered. "Aye, and done more damage than The Endeavor and Beckett and his whole lot of mincing little soldiers could dream. Not to mention what he would have done to Sparrow given the chance to set his claws into him again."  
"So you traded one for the other when I required both." The Goddess spoke carefully, like an admonishing parent. "You allowed yourself to be clouded, Barbossa..." At first he did not understand her displeasure with him. After all, had he not already passed through enough fire for her? It was hell enough to bring Jack back, much less...  
And then it dawned on him, brightly and suddenly, and the clarity of it made him curse himself for not seeing through her veil earlier. He had never clearly understood why she had chosen him, but now he saw; she needed Jack and Sao to be compelled to join the Brethern again, something neither despite being living or dead would do willing. She needed a bartering chip, something that they both wanted, something a woman like herself couldn't provide. She needed him, because he had loved them both. And because they both still loved him.  
He backed away from her, and she saw what was in his heart and his mind at that moment and knew that her hold upon him was wavering. He turned away, sick with himself. Were Jack's sudden feelings for him even his own? Or were they some witchery of hers? How could he be sure of anything he felt now?  
She tried to comfort him, to assure him and lull him back under her careful thumb, but he brushed her off, for he had grown tired of serving as her puppet, "You tricked me."  
"I only let you see what you needed to see." she answered, toying with the chain about his neck. "No'ting you have done has been against your own will." She looked at him, a bit worried about the wave of doubt that now radiated from him. "Remember your promise to me, Barbossa. You are my champion." She tried to kiss his cheek but he turned aside.. It was only after a moment of gathering himself that he was able to answer; "I do not reneg on a bargain once struck. But we agreed on ends only, the means are mine to decide."  
But the vodun woman did not look pleased with this statement. In her eyes Barbossa saw the rage of the sea and again had that sickening quiver of fear run through him as she gripped the chain in her palm and pulled tightly, bring him closer to her and laying her free palm upon his arm. "Caution, Barbossa. Do not forget it was by my power you return from the dead, or what it means should you fail me." Hector looked down in horror to realize that his hand had returned to it's previous cursed skeletal form. But he pushed down that fear and tore away from her, shoving her against the mast instead with his own warning stare, startling the woman who had been so sure of her absolute power over him; "Don't forget why you had to bring me back, and that it was by hand that we reached Sparrow and plucked him back from the Hell designed for 'im! It took nine pirate lords to bind you, Calypso. And it'll take no less than nine to set ye free."  
He was playing with fire, or perhaps more appropriately water, but he couldn't back down now. His will was his own, and he would fight to the death for it. Even against a God. "Masters Pintel and Ragetti!" he called to his faithful men, who had been eavesdropping this whole time, "-- take this fishwife to the brig."  
The two deck hands took her by the arm, pulling her away; "Right this way, Mrs. Fish."  
Tia Dalma shrugged them both off, still leering hard at Hector as though she would like to kill him where he stood, and went below deck under her own power, his men right behind. Barbossa expelled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and leaned upon the mast for support against his shaking legs. It was this time Jack came sauntering curiously by. "What was that about?" He looked closer and saw that the other man was sheet white and quivering. Jack worriedly eased the man down upon a crate and peered carefully into his face, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you just had dealings with something all together unholy and unnatural." He cast his gaze towards where Tia Dalma disappeared with her two dubious escorts. "Am I right?"  
"It doesn't matter now," Hector breathed. "We've come this far. I can no longer turn aside." The other captain looked confused by his cryptic words, cocking an eyebrow curiously. He cleared his throat and decided to change the subject then, "About last night..."  
To his surprise however, Barbossa stood up, a frown fixed on his face and would not look at him. "Best just forget it, Jack." Sparrow blinked in surprise, staring after the other man and following after his limping gate. "But what if I don't want to forget about it?"  
"Ye don't know what yer sayin'," Hector muttered, trying to hide the pain he was feeling behind his scowl. He couldn't let himself be sucked any further into this game and be hurt again, he just couldn't. A heart can only withstand being broken so many times before it shatters completely. Jack reached for his shoulder, perplexed by this sudden aloofness. "Hector...!"  
Barbossa whirled on him. "Dammit, don't ye hear?! I said let it be!" He stormed away, leaving Jack blinking in his wake. Gibbs ambled up along side him, recognizing that look of wounded confusion upon his Captain's face. "Perhaps he's right, Jack." he said gently. "Maybe that ship has sailed." He hated to see his friend looking so crushed, but knew that Jack was not always able to look beyond things and see that they might be for the better. "Come on, Captain. Let's you and I have a drink below deck. Have ye a moment for your old friend?"  
Jack gave him a weak smile and put an arm around him. "Always."


End file.
